RE: Enter the slayer
by myra
Summary: A Buffy/Angel/Resident Evil crossover story. Nemesis has gained intelligence while the former S.T.A.R.S. must start the search for two groups of potential allies, if they can be trusted.
1. How It's all gone down

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the RE characters or anyone else aside from Elizabeth. This takes place after the movie, and assumes the 'zombie population' has somewhat gotten out of hand since then. It also would take place after RE: CV, so there are some inaccuracies in the timeline.  
  
Oak Town, OH 11:34 PM 12/04/01  
  
Jill, Rebecca, Chris, Claire, and Leon had responded to the rumors of Umbrella's zombies in Oak Town, and they had been afraid they would reach there too late to be of any help. They were right, the town was devastated, but they also found that all of the Zombies had been cleared out.  
  
"We better search for clues." Chris decided, looking at Leon and the three women. "Spread out and look for any evidence of who did this, but be careful, we can't guarantee they are all dead."  
  
As they did so Rebecca looked over at Jill. "I thought Chris would have been happy to have people helping us." She pointed out.  
  
Jill shook her head. "He would. We all would, but we have to make sure they are on our side. Just because we are both fighting Umbrella doesn't mean they are willing to coexist with us." She replied.  
  
Jill then separated from the others and started looking around. Most of the battle had obviously taken place outside, indicating that the mystery people had shown up not long after the Zombies had been getting ready to move on.  
  
She shook her head. It had seemed as if ever since she had eliminated Nemesis back at Raccoon City these things had gotten smarter. Of course she had discussed it thoroughly with her team and the conclusion had been drawn as impossible. These things had only one instinct: the need to feed. And she suspected a basic instinct for destruction, but one didn't need intelligence for that.  
  
A piece of paper caught her eye and Jill leaned down, steeling herself for a journal entry regarding the invasion and destruction of this town. Instead she found something that shocked her. "Chris! Guys! Come here!" she called out.  
  
Within moments the four other team members were over with guns raised, but found no adversary. Claire stared at Jill for a moment as if she had gone crazy. "What? What's going on?" She asked.  
  
Jill held up the paper. "I found this." She explained.  
  
Leon's face showed the same confusion that Claire's had. "So?"  
  
"Listen." Jill instructed, then cleared her throat and began:  
  
"My name is Rain Ocampo. I'm one of the two survivors to the mission of Shutting Down the Hive. We didn't know what we were getting into. Alice, the other survivor, doesn't remember much about who she is. They continue to block her memory so they could keep her fighting. Me? They have me on drugs."  
  
"Sounds like more Umbrella victims." Claire said.  
  
"Who are they?" Rebecca asked.  
  
Jill looked up at them. "My guess is they are U.B.C.S., like Carlos was. Umbrella must be trying to minimize the mess the public finds." She answered.  
  
"Anyone ever heard of Rain or Alice?" Leon asked. When no one answered Jill continued:  
  
"The T Virus infected me. There is an anti-virus but it's like being addicted to drugs. I have to have the damn stuff every six hours. That's how they keep me 'in line', fighting and keeping their secret."  
  
"I knew there had to be some kind of cure." Rebecca commented.  
  
Chris looked over at her. "Yeah, as some kind of drug." He added.  
  
"Drugs and anti viruses are two complete different things." Rebecca countered. "Unless of course it's a temporary cure, like most of the stuff they have on cancer."  
  
"Being turned into a zombie is one hell of a cancer." Claire said.  
  
Chris looked at Jill. "Go on." He instructed. Jill continued to read:  
  
"You may wonder what I mean by fighting. I mean the damn zombies of the Nemesis Project are loose. I don't know what keeps the bastards in line, but it ain't us. They stay in Raccoon City for the most part. We try to eliminate them but it only works like five percent of the time. The other ninety-five? They fuckin walk away."  
  
"I thought Raccoon City was nuked." Rebecca said as she looked up from one of her friends to the other.  
  
"I thought so too." Chris replied. "But Zombies don't need much, so maybe they hang out there or something."  
  
"Or," Claire added. "They may have rebuilt Raccoon. Umbrella, I mean, not the zombies."  
  
"They must be doing something wrong if they have that type of kill ratio." Jill said as she looked at her friends. "I know they are hard SOB's to kill, but not that hard. But I wonder what they mean by keeping them in line, because we aren't doing it either. We're lucky to stay one step of Umbrella sometimes."  
  
Jill then looked back to the letter and went on:  
  
"I'd turn them in to somebody that could do something except for two reasons. One, I'm not sure anybody could truly deal with them and two, keeping this secret is the only way to keep Alice and I alive. If I could find a way around the latter, I'd betray the bastards and find the former."  
  
"If I could look at this cure, we could know if it was permanent or not." Rebecca commented, more to herself than the others.  
  
"Yeah, let's just go over there and ask them real nicely if we can look at it." Leon said sarcastically.  
  
"That was my plan, what was yours?" Rebecca countered sweetly.  
  
"The thing is," Chris interrupted. "Who could possibly be able to do anything about Umbrella and their creations?"  
  
"Good question." Jill admitted and then went back to the letter:  
  
"I think his name is Max.he's the head of Nemesis. Smart bastard. According to the Red Queen, the watcher of the base, they shouldn't be smart. Just the basic instinct: The need to feed. That means Max (Nemesis now, he was scratched by.hell, who knows) gave them true intelligence. Agent 3 (Umbrella's new name for Alice) suspects there is something else involved, but she doesn't know what."  
  
"At least this Rain confirmed they are part of Umbrella, albeit unwillingly." Claire said.  
  
"Didn't you kill Nemesis?" Rebecca asked Jill.  
  
She nodded. "Yes, or at least I thought I did." She said.  
  
"Maybe they have more than one." Leon suggested.  
  
Jill shuddered at the thought. Then she continued reading:  
  
"I write this now, but I don't expect anyone to find this until I'm dead. Or one of those zombies. This is to let any future fighters know what I know. Help them fight."  
  
"Where did you find it?" Chris asked her.  
  
"Right where I'm standing. It doesn't look like it came from a dead body, more like it fell out of a pocket or something." Jill replied.  
  
"Is that it?" Claire asked, looking at the papers Jill held.  
  
"No, there is more." Jill said, then continued on:  
  
"I didn't plan on it, but this is critical. I found new information (had to learn to hack a computer, it's damn difficult) that explains some things, but leaves more questions. From what I found, Nemesis spread intelligence, but the thing that gave Nemesis its intelligence is referred to as a Hellmouth."  
  
"A Hellmouth?" Claire echoed. "What is that?"  
  
"Never heard of it." Chris told her.  
  
"Sounds like there is more than one Nemesis then." Leon commented.  
  
"But why haven't they sent it after us?" Jill asked.  
  
"If there is a second Nemesis that gained intelligence, it may have acted as a virus itself, spreading it to other near by zombies. And into whatever new zombies they make." Rebecca speculated.  
  
"So Umbrella's own weapon turned against it with help from this.Hellmouth." Claire added. "And hence, the people like this Rain and Alice."  
  
Jill looked up at them. "The letter just said the same thing." She then continued:  
  
"Don't know what it means. Classified info says they left Raccoon City and was drawn to this Hellmouth (somewhere in California, but I don't know where) and they found a challenge. They call it a slayer (or maybe the slayer, I'm not sure) and some other people. It says there were no casualties at the Hellmouth's location."  
  
"No casualties?" Rebecca repeated, shocked. "How could they have gone anywhere without causing damage and death?"  
  
"Good question." Chris conceded. "And what about this slayer and co., what is that?  
  
"California, huh?" Leon echoed. "Bet it's Los Angeles."  
  
Rebecca smiled a little. "Sure, except how could they go through an area as heavily populated as that and not cause any trouble?" she wondered.  
  
Jill went on with the letter:  
  
"Shit, Alice and I had a team in an isolated area and only she and I made it out alive. Scratch that, I should be dead. Then they go to this Hellmouth with lots of people and there are NO casualties. I'm wondering what this slayer and co. have that we don't."  
  
"I think we just asked that question." Jill said, smiling a little. Then she went on:  
  
"Also, there's a girl (daughter of a scientist involved in Nemesis) who has all the information about the project and is doing what I can't. Finding real help. This slayer, I think. Damn, I have the former (real help) but not the latter (a real cure and protection for Alice and I). I wish this girl good luck, but I think it's in vain. Some zombies have been put 'under control' (I don't believe that shit) and are tracking her. Since these things don't seem to actually need to eat (I think) and don't need sleep, they have the edge. I don't even think the girl knows that this slayer (and the Hellmouth) are in California. Damn, Umbrella will win again."  
  
"And that's that." Jill said, putting the letter in her pocket and standing up.  
  
"A daughter from a Nemesis project scientist with information. We have to find her." Claire pointed out.  
  
"I'll place a call into Barry when we leave." Chris said.  
  
"Which might as well be now, we aren't going to find a thing here." Jill said as she walked over to them.  
  
"We should get back to Barry, let him know what we found." Chris said as he looked at all of them. "He should be interested in what we found. Maybe we can find this girl that ran from her parents and the Nemesis Project."  
  
"And find this slayer." Rebecca added.  
  
"I'd like to know what they have that we don't." Leon admitted.  
  
  
  
Sunnydale, CA 12:02 AM 11/21/01  
  
"They're coming!" Xander Harris called out as he and the visionary Elizabeth Thompson came running from the corner of the forest. "And one of those big uglys are behind us!"  
  
The watcher Rupert Giles handed the slayer Buffy Summers the rocket launcher they had stolen from the armory again and she aimed it, yelling, "Xander! Elizabeth! Get out of the way!"  
  
Xander dodged to the right while Elizabeth dodged to the left, and the Licker came tearing around the corner, saliva dripping from its mouth, the Licker knelt down and prepared to pounce on Elizabeth, who was getting to her knees.  
  
Buffy fired the rocket launcher, and it sped right toward the crouching Licker. It saw the blast coming but was unable to move away from it in time. The rocket blew the Licker's head right off, and it hit the pavement with a wet slap.  
  
Elizabeth made her way to Buffy with Xander behind her. "That is the only Licker. The others are zombies." She told the slayer.  
  
"And some big ugly hanging way behind. Kinda scarred. Lot's of tentacles." Xander added.  
  
"Nemesis." Said the guy behind her, wearing a black leather duster. He turned to Buffy and looked directly at her with his intense brown eyes. "He seems to be the closest thing they have to a leader."  
  
Buffy nodded. "Thanks for the info, Angel." She said, glad that Giles had suggested that she ask her vampire ex-boyfriend here to help them against the rumored zombie attack that Spike had stumbled upon.  
  
"Okay," Willow Rosenburg said, with her girl friend Tara Mac Clay standing right beside her. "These packet should protect us from their bites, so that way we don't become infected."  
  
Giles, Buffy, Anya, Xander, Buffy's little sister Dawn Summers, and Elizabeth received one a packet, which they put in their pockets. Willow and Tara did the same thing.  
  
"What about Spike and Angel?" Anya asked,  
  
The bleach blonde haired vampire Spike looked over at her. "We're undead. Even if these things bite us, we're not going to get infected. And biting us will be a lot harder than they think." He told her.  
  
"Well, here they come!" Dawn pointed out.  
  
Buffy picked up her sword, and Elizabeth picked up her sword as well. Willow, Anya, Xander, Dawn, Giles, and Tara took up the crossbow.  
  
Angel stepped beside Buffy. "Ready?" he asked. "Always." She responded, smiling at her vampire ex-boyfriend.  
  
At that moment a few dozen zombies stumbled from around the hill.  
  
"Now!" Giles called out, and the six of them fired their crossbow bolts. Giles struck his in the head, and it fell over dead. Dawn hit hers in the heart, but it didn't seem to stop them. Willow hit hers in the leg. Tara's landed just short. Xander hit his in the neck, but that also seemed to do little good. Anya hit another in the stomach, but it seemed unaffected.  
  
"Headshots seem to be the most effective." Giles noted, then looked at Buffy. "You're up until we reload. I'll yell just before we're ready."  
  
"Got it." Buffy said.  
  
Spike smiled. "Our turn."  
  
Both Angel and Spike changed now, their eyes glowing feral yellow, their faces becoming twisted and distorted, the visage of a vampire. Then the two vampires and the two slayers charged forward.  
  
Buffy used her sword to decapitate the one that Dawn had hit in the heart.  
  
Elizabeth used her sword to decapitate the zombie that Willow had hit in the leg.  
  
Angel snapped the neck of the zombie Xander had hit in the neck, and then turned to do the same to the one Anya had gotten in the stomach.  
  
Spike just went in randomly and began snapping the necks of the zombies around him. He was clearly enjoying the slaughter, even if he had to settle for zombies.  
  
"We're ready!" Dawn called out to her sister and her friends.  
  
Buffy and Elizabeth rolled back, falling behind some trees. A zombie tried to follow, but Liz stuck her sword in its stomach, allowing Buffy to decapitate it.  
  
Angel did the same, falling behind tress. Spike joined them a little later.  
  
"Remember, aim for the head." Giles told the five teens and then they released their bolts.  
  
Once again, Giles got in his headshot, as did Xander. Dawn got her bolt at the side of the head, enough to cause a wound but not enough to kill. Tara's got her zombie in the head, but not deep enough. Fortunately, Willow's bolt hit Tara's and drove it into the zombie's skull, killing it.  
  
"Move out!" Buffy called out, and the four fighters moved in, Buffy once again decapitating the one Dawn had aimed for. Angel and Spike began to snap their necks again, and Elizabeth joined her slayer friend in decapitating them.  
  
"I don't get why they aren't going into town. They're zombies, so they do the eating thing, right?" Willow questioned as she took another bolt from the bag they had brought.  
  
"These zombies aren't natural." Anya provided helpfully.  
  
"Unnatural zombies, as opposed to natural zombies." Xander said.  
  
Any rolled her eyes. "I mean these things weren't resurrected by a witch or a monster. These were human made." She elaborated.  
  
"Humans can sometimes be the worst monsters." Tara pointed out.  
  
"They seem to take their orders from that big thing Angel mentioned, that.Nemesis. Maybe if we take it out..?" Dawn started to suggest.  
  
Giles nodded. "Agreed." Then raised his voice. "Buffy, try to take out Nemesis. Maybe if we take that thing out the rest of the zombies will fall."  
  
Buffy had no way to tell her watcher she got it, so she just started cutting her way through as many zombies as she could.  
  
One of the zombies grabbed at her arm, another her leg, loosening the repellent Willow had created, and Buffy was worried that it would fall out. Then nothing would stop the zombies from killing her.  
  
A hand reached out and snapped the neck of the zombie that had Buffy's arm, proceeding a moment later to do the same with the one who had her leg. It was Angel. "You can't make it through alone, or fight Nemesis alone. I'll go with you." He said.  
  
Buffy nodded, glad to have him along for the ride. "Let's do it." She replied.  
  
"Ready." She heard her watcher call out, but knew for as deep as she and Angel were getting into these things to get to Nemesis, the arrows wouldn't strike them.  
  
Buffy could see Nemesis standing there, and she found it odd, knowing the information Angel found said that it should be going to meet the slayer and the vampire with a soul halfway.  
  
"What is it doing?" Buffy asked him.  
  
Angel shook his head. "I don't know. It seems to be waiting for us when it should be attacking us." He confirmed.  
  
"Great." Buffy acknowledged, rolling her eyes as she decapitated another zombie.  
  
It took another few minutes, but Buffy and Angel managed to get their way through the zombies, and she had to acknowledge if it weren't for Angel, the slayer would have been killed already.  
  
"I'm glad you very durable. These things didn't touch you. Or me again." Buffy told Angel.  
  
"Me too." Angel told her. "But Nemesis isn't some brainless zombie."  
  
To Elizabeth's horror, she saw one of the zombies block Spike arms, and only a quick knee to the gut allowed Spike to snap its neck like he had several others.  
  
Dawn gasped in shock. Her arrow had it one of the zombies with a flesh wound to the head, and she planned to finish it off with the next bolt, but it began to pull the bolt out of its head. "Is that possible?" she asked Giles.  
  
Giles turned to see it as well. "I don't think that should be possible. They have no preservation instincts. Nothing telling him something shoving that bolt deeper into its brain will kill it." He told her.  
  
"Well, looks like something did." Xander commented.  
  
Buffy charged toward Nemesis, and it swiped a tentacle at her. She chopped it off with her sword and kicked Nemesis in the guts. It recoiled, grabbing her by the neck in its large hands, lifting Buffy up.  
  
It didn't notice Angel come in with a low kick, causing it to flail and release Buffy. The slayer landed a little quicker than she wanted, but recovered nonetheless.  
  
Now Nemesis swung two tentacles at Angel. The enraged vampire caught both of the tentacles and literally tore them off. Then he swung his fist right at Nemesis' face, causing a hard crack.  
  
"Dear god." Giles whispered.  
  
"What?" Willow asked him.  
  
"These things may not be supernatural, but they are monsters. Perhaps the proximity to the Hellmouth must be effecting them." He explained.  
  
"As in giving these things intelligence?" Dawn questioned.  
  
"So it appears." Giles confirmed.  
  
Despite the fact the zombies were getting better at blocking her swings, Elizabeth still managed to get in her cuts, decapitating the zombies. She also noticed Spike had to block a few punches and give a few of his own before he snapped the zombies necks.  
  
"Is it me or are these things getting smarter?" she asked Spike.  
  
"I don't think it's you, visionary. I think they are too." Spike replied.  
  
"Glad to know we agree on one thing." Elizabeth commented.  
  
Buffy came up now, cutting deep into Nemesis' arm. It shrieked out in pain, throwing the slayer backwards. She landed and had the breath momentarily knocked out of her. Angel ran to her side, and then turned, ready to defend them both against Nemesis.  
  
But Nemesis just looked at the zombies and called out a horrifyingly long and ear piercing shriek. The zombies turned toward him, two getting hit in the head by bolts from Dawn and Giles. Two more died from Elizabeth's sword and Spike managed to snap the neck of another. But then the zombies turned to walk toward Nemesis.  
  
"Buffy!" Dawn and Willow called out at the same time, knowing the slayer and Angel were right in their path.  
  
Angel too saw the zombies coming toward them, but was as surprised to see Nemesis turning and leaving as well.  
  
"Did we get them?" Buffy asked a little foggily.  
  
"I think they're running away." Angel told the slayer.  
  
It was then that the rest of their group reached them, Dawn kneeling beside her sister and hugging her while Angel looked at Giles. "What the hell happened?" he questioned.  
  
Giles took off his glasses and cleaned them a bit, more of a nervous habit than anything. "I believe the Hellmouth gave them intelligence, and they retreated." He informed the vampire with a soul.  
  
Buffy looked stunned. "Huh?"  
  
Raccoon City, 10:32 PM 11/27/01  
  
Rain woke up to the sound of voices, even though she knew that she should never have woke up again.  
  
"Courtney has escaped all security, and she has all the vital information." A man said.  
  
"Your daughter must be stopped." Said the voice of a man she knew she didn't trust. She opened them, seeing it was a man with sunglasses and an unreadable expression. "She must not find the renegade S.T.A.R.S."  
  
"Our dispatchers have been sent." The other man, presumably the girl's father, said emotionlessly.  
  
"What the hell?" Rain questioned.  
  
The scientist looked at her. "The last attack from the zombies set things off. You almost died, but we were able to revive you again." He explained.  
  
"Why didn't you just let me die?" Rain questioned, knowing it wouldn't be answered any better this time than it was the last. "What about Alice.?" She asked.  
  
"Agent 3 is recovering. She was the one that kept you alive until we showed up." The man told her.  
  
Rain really hated dealing with these Umbrella bastards. If it weren't for the fact Alice depended on her, she would kill herself now, and screw the temporary cure. But she couldn't do that.  
  
"You and Agent 3 will be assembled for debriefing and into another team, you two were the only survivors again." The other scientist told her.  
  
"I'll be in ops, trying to track Nemesis and the other zombies." The man in the sunglasses left.  
  
He stopped by to see Alice, the one they called Agent 3. She seemed to be enjoying a cup of hot chocolate, in between worrying about Rain and trying to figure out herself. He decided not to tell her Rain would be fine. He also knew Alice was scheduled for her next blocker in a half hour. She really was beautiful, no matter how deadly.  
  
It was a shame they didn't realize their other soldiers were working to capture Nemesis and not destroy him. If they could harness the power, Umbrella would be invincible.  
  
"They must be heading to Raccoon City." Said a woman. He turned to see a the blonde girl standing there again. He recalled looking up her name. It was Buffy Summers. But she never went by that name, which confused him a little. But it didn't matter to him what she went by. "They will be trying to decide what to do now that they have found worthy adversaries in California."  
  
"Then my search will begin there." He said and turned to leave.  
  
"Good. You will need all the luck in the world for this one, Albert Wesker." The girl told him and after he had left from earshot she added, "All the luck in the world indeed." Her eyes glowed red and she then disappeared.  
  
What is going on here, huh? For those of you who watch Buffy, I'm sure you know who that second Buffy is, but for those who don't: you'll have to wait and see. And how will the S.T.A.R.S and the scoobies react now? What about Alice and Rain? And where is Courtney and how far can they trust her? Stay tuned for the next time, when the three teams meet. 


	2. Destined in LA

Disclaimer: No RE character is owned by me. No Buffy character is owned by me. I own Elizabeth and Courtney.  
  
Los Angeles, CA 12/12/01 1:30AM  
  
Courtney got off the bus stop at LA, waiting impatiently for the two guys to unload their bags so she could find hers. She knew she was only perhaps an hour ahead of her pursuers.  
  
She took the time to call and arrange for a car for her to pick up at a rent a car place, then took her handbag and sat down at one of the plastic seats. She checked her purse for the disk, and was pleased to see it was in the bag. Not like it could have disappeared, but she wanted to be certain.  
  
It took another ten minutes for her to get her luggage and get out the door. She walked quickly, having already made sure the rent a car place was no more than three blocks away. She had to drive quickly.  
  
She wished she knew where she was driving too.  
  
She found the front desk and got the keys she needed for her rented car, a Lexus. She made her way to the parking lot and unlocked the trunk of her car, storing her luggage there. She made her way to the front of the door and decided she would find the nearest hotel and spend the night. Even after all these months, she never could sleep on a bus.  
  
She unlocked her door when a hand clamped on her wrist, and she turned into the face of a grotesque being, a zombie. She screamed, but it gave no notice. Another one grabbed her other arm, and she saw two more approaching. She was suddenly unsure what they would do with her now.  
  
Near the scene, Angel had just finished dusting a vamp that had just found his way into town. When he heard the girl scream he ran toward the location to see the long blonde haired young woman being pulled at by the zombies. Even though it had been a month or so, he would know them anywhere.  
  
"Isn't this the part where you tell her 'You're coming with me'"? He asked casually.  
  
The four zombies turned and faced him. The two of them released Courtney's arm. Angel nodded slightly and continued, "Because if you don't talk, then I can't tell you that it won't happen."  
  
The four zombies shambled their way to Angel, and the vampire figured it had to be a joke. Intelligence or no, there was no way four Umbrella zombies were going to get the best of him. Angel met them halfway, kicking the first to back and then repeating the move with the second one. He punched the third one in the face and turned to the fourth, swinging at him.  
  
The fourth dodged his fist, and then grabbed his arm. He then sank his teeth into the vampire, tearing in deeply.  
  
"No!" Courtney yelled out, once again horrified at what the zombie did. No matter how many times she saw it, she never got over being sick at seeing what her father's creations did to people.  
  
Angel just growled, pulled his arm back and allowed his face to change into the visage of a vampire. "Damn, that really hurts." He said and then snapped its neck.  
  
By then the three zombies and recovered from his attack and began to make their way to Angel. This time Angel didn't mess around, meeting them and snapping their necks effortlessly. As they all fell to the ground in a lifeless heap, Angel turned to Courtney, still wearing his vampire face.  
  
Courtney went from fear to horror, and began to run away from Angel.  
  
In a flash Angel had her by her arm and turned her around saying, "It's okay. I'm here to help." He smiled. "Despite whatever the face may say."  
  
Courtney pulled her arm away from Angel but didn't run. "Even if I believed that, it won't stay that way for long. You're infected." She said, expecting him to ask what she meant by that.  
  
To her surprise, Angel smiled. "No, a bite like that won't infect me. Or a scratch. The virus only works when you're alive, so it can kill you and make you a zombie. If you're already undead, it has no effect." Angel told her.  
  
Courtney went from being horrified to curious in a fearful way. "You're undead?" she asked him.  
  
Angel nodded. "I'm a vampire cursed with a soul. I help people now, and if those zombies were any indication, that would mean that you need help. Umbrella seems to be after you, or the zombies are doing this of their own accord, and that means you still need help." He explained.  
  
Courtney now looked at Angel with total curiosity, a habit of being the daughter of a scientist. "You're a vampire with a soul? Who know about Umbrella and their experiments? Is that typical news?" She questioned.  
  
Angel took the keys that she had dropped when the zombies attacked her. "We should get going. I'll take you to where I and my friends are staying and I'll explain on the way." He said.  
  
Courtney realized she had no safer or better alternative. "Okay." She agreed, getting into the passenger seat as Angel started the car.  
  
After getting on the road, he started, "Most of the underworld.vampires, demons and such.have no interest in what Umbrella is up too. I was cursed with a soul by a gypsy clan. Me and my friends know a bit about Umbrella but not enough."  
  
Courtney patted her handbag. "I.I have information about Nemesis project here. From its creation to the sudden intelligence and the theories of how it happened. It's in a disk inside." She blurted suddenly, realizing how much she hated being alone and afraid.  
  
"I want a friend of mine to look at the disk for specifics on Nemesis." Angel said simply. "If it's okay with you."  
  
"Fine." Courtney said.  
  
"I already know how Nemesis and several zombies got smart. I was there." He told her.  
  
Courtney was startled. "What?"  
  
"It was in Sunnydale, they have it on file as the Hellmouth. Something lured Nemesis there, along with the zombies. I was called by my friend Buffy to help fight. We did rather well, except Nemesis was stronger than we gave credit for. But the Hellmouth made them smart and they left. We're not sure why." He explained.  
  
She smiled a bit. "My father would kill to find someone who was there when they got intelligence." She confided.  
  
Angel smiled a little. "It wouldn't help. No one could figure out exactly when it happened." He replied. "When we get to the Hyperion Hotel, I'll call my Sunnydale friends and tell them to come here. We can have them see the disk too, maybe find Umbrella's weakness."  
  
Courtney wondered if he was telepathic. She never the less asked, "How do you know that is what I want?"  
  
"Because you wouldn't be running from zombies and holding information if you agreed with what they were doing." Angel said simply.  
  
"How old are you?" she asked him.  
  
"About 253." He said easily.  
  
They drove on in silence, and Angel realized that was because Courtney had fallen asleep.  
  
  
  
Paris, France 12/12/01 6:45 AM  
  
"I tracked some of the Umbrella communications." Carlos Oliveria told the group as they sat around at the table, taking one of their few breaks over coffee. "They think the girl, Courtney, has gone to California."  
  
"Any ideas why?" Claire asked.  
  
Carlos shook his head and responded, "No idea."  
  
"Maybe she is seeking out this 'slayer' that Rain mentioned in her letter." Jill suggested. She had not told them that she had the letter in her jeans pocket.  
  
Rebecca nodded, having remembered almost the entire letter. "She said that the slayer was somewhere in California." She pointed out and shuddered. "Along with this Hellmouth."  
  
"Yeah, the name gives me the creeps too." Chris told her.  
  
"Then maybe we should follow suit." Barry suggested. "After all, this girl is in danger and we could use the information."  
  
"Sounds like a good idea." Leon agreed.  
  
Jill looked thoughtful. "How can we be sure that this slayer can be trusted? The name doesn't exactly inspire the most confidence, after all." She asked.  
  
"We only have one way to find out." Claire pointed out. "Besides, if this slayer was a threat to people, then we'd know it. But if this slayer only fights Umbrella, they'd cover it up anyway."  
  
"We'd still have lots of California to search." Chris pointed out.  
  
Rebecca snapped her fingers. "Not necessarily. LA might not be the Hellmouth, but it's the best way to start. That way we can spread out, and that might even be it, if Nemesis passed through there." She stated.  
  
Barry nodded, pleased at her thinking. "I still have a few resources left, I'll call in a jet and get we can make our way. Start packing ladies and gentlemen." He ordered. Sunnydale, CA 12/12/01 2:30 AM  
  
Buffy came back from a long night of patrol. Actually, to quote her friend Elizabeth it wasn't long, just boring. She swore the vamps were laying low for some reason none of them could figure out.  
  
She stopped and got a glass of milk, then leaned against the counter. She so wished she could figure out why things were so slow. It was the only thing she could do right now except for raise Dawn. And she was less than cooperative about that.  
  
The phone rang and Buffy ran to answer it, hoping it didn't wake Dawn. Unless she was still up. Or if she was the one calling. "Hello." She answered, preparing for the worse.  
  
"It's me." She heard on the other end, and she knew who it was. Once again Angel was calling her without saying hello. She sighed inwardly, knowing some things never changed. But she smiled, also glad about that. "We have a problem."  
  
Buffy sat on the kitchen counter. "Don't we always? What's up? And hello, by the way." She replied.  
  
Angel ignored her sarcasm. "I just rescued a girl from a few zombies. They were after her because she has information on Umbrella and the Nemesis project." He told her.  
  
That got the slayer's attention. She remembered calling him a few weeks ago to deal with the rumors of zombies and the Nemesis monster. And they had barely won, Giles speculated they got smart and realized they wouldn't win, despite all evidence in that battle that proved otherwise. "What is it?" she asked him.  
  
"I don't know yet. I have Fred looking over it, but I figured you and your friends would want to know. It couldn't hurt to have two pairs of eyes looking at the files." He responded.  
  
"I'll get the gang together in the morning and we'll make our way down to LA." Buffy told her vampire with a soul ex. "Later." She then hung up.  
  
"Something wrong?" someone asked. She turned to see her sister Dawn standing there, wearing a nightgown that Buffy couldn't recall seeing in ages.  
  
"Yeah, you could say that. We have a problem, which involves Angel in LA. And whether I like it or not, you will have to come this time." Buffy informed her and hopped of the counter. "So get some sleep."  
  
"What is the problem?" Dawn asked her now.  
  
Buffy paused, but despite her doubt she went ahead and told her. "It's Umbrella. And the Nemesis monster."  
  
Los Angeles, CA 12/21/01 4:30AM  
  
"What took you so long?" Fred asked Angel as he walked in. "Sunrise is coming and we were getting worried."  
  
"Something came up and I had to call Buffy." Angel told her as he came down the stairs and looked at Gunn, "We need to make up one of the rooms."  
  
"Why?" Gunn asked as he followed Angel.  
  
"What's going on?" Fred asked.  
  
"There is a young woman who is parking her car and making her way here. She is running from Umbrella because she has vital information about the Nemesis project. I want you to look at it Fred, Willow will do the same when the gang comes up here." Angel told them both.  
  
Gunn sighed. "Guess we should be making up more than one room." He pointed out.  
  
"Good point." Angel admitted. "Where's Cordelia?"  
  
"Sleeping." Fred answered. "She has an audition tomorrow so Gunn and I agreed to hold the fort."  
  
They heard the door open and in stepped a young blonde woman that both Fred and Gunn guessed was the girl Angel had rescued. "Hi." Fred said.  
  
"Hi." She acknowledged, looking around. "Is this." she started.  
  
"This is the Hyperion Hotel." Angel provided quickly. "These are two of my friend Fred and Gunn." He introduced.  
  
"Hey." Gunn acknowledged.  
  
"He and I are about to make up your room. Give the disk to Fred and she'll take a look at it." Angel added.  
  
Courtney looked reluctant but she reached into her purse and pulled out the disk, handing it to Fred. "I'm Courtney." She added.  
  
"Thanks." Fred said, taking the disk and as she went to her computer she added, "Nice name."  
  
"Thanks." Courtney said, sitting down on the counter. "So, how much do you know about Umbrella?"  
  
"Only that it's so dangerous that Angel insisted on returning to Sunnydale on his own despite the fact it sounded like they could have used all the help they could get." Fred answered.  
  
"Angel says he's immune to the effects of the T and G virus. Something about being undead makes him immune. I won't pretend I understand the intricacies of being dead and what happens afterwards. But I do know that the virus turns any living thing into zombies upon penetration." Courtney told her.  
  
"Did you help design the virus?" Fred asked her.  
  
"My parents did." Courtney corrected. "They are both scientists in the project. It took me a few years to realize that I wanted a way to stop it. But I never got it until a U.B.C.S. elite team discovered an infestation of intelligent zombies in a small town and eliminated all but one. Somehow they learned that something called the Hellmouth gave them intelligence after confronting something called a slayer."  
  
Fred paused. "Angel was there." She said.  
  
Courtney nodded. "I know. He told me." She told him.  
  
Angel came downstairs. "Your room is ready, Courtney. Gunn is just putting covers on the pillows." The vampire told her.  
  
"Great." She said, suddenly unable to suppress a yawn. "Have someone wake me when your friends show up." She stood up, smiling from Fred to Angel before going up the stairs.  
  
"She's nice." Fred told Angel. "It's hard to believe her parents developed the viruses."  
  
Sunnydale, CA 12/21/01 7:30AM  
  
Willow and Tara came downstairs to see Buffy sleeping on the couch. As Tara went into the kitchen to start breakfast Willow knelt down by the slayer and gently shook her awake.  
  
"Oh, what time is it?" she asked groggily.  
  
"Seven thirty." Willow told her. "I heard Dawn moving around so she's up, and Elizabeth called five minutes ago. She is going to pick up Xander and Anya. They should be here in another ten minutes."  
  
"Tara's breakfast." Buffy guessed as she heard some moving in the kitchen.  
  
"Yeah." Willow confirmed.  
  
"We'll need our energy." Buffy replied, a little more awake now. "We have something important to do and a road trip to make."  
  
"What's going on?" Willow asked her.  
  
Buffy looked directly at her. "Angel has someone with info on those zombie making viruses." She told her friend grimly.  
  
***************************************************************  
  
Jill observed Los Angeles from the plane window as their plane started their descent. She had to admit that the place didn't look like it contained hidden dangers. But she also knew appearances could be deceiving.  
  
She looked over at her friends, and when Chris looked at her she said, "I just hope we're not too late. If LA becomes another version of Raccoon City, everything could be over."  
  
  
  
Okay, so they didn't meet. But they will next chapter. After all, Umbrella's tracking Courtney and Nemesis has decided it wants Buffy and Angel's head on a plate, and all the more when it discovers Jill in LA too. Stay tuned. 


	3. And the Twain shall meet,sorta

On the road to LA 12/21/01 9:00 AM  
  
Elizabeth drove the van they rented down to LA. Buffy sat beside her. Both slayer and visionary could hear the adamant conversations in the back. Willow, Giles and Tara spent their time speculating what would be on the disk that Angel said they had acquired, with Dawn interjecting her own observations. Xander and Anya spent their time bickering, and Buffy wasn't quiet sure what it was about or if it was even genuine. Spike sat on his own, staring out of the window across from him, sullen.  
  
Buffy had insisted they pick Spike up for this fight, just in case they needed him. Buffy recalled her first encounter with Nemesis and the zombies he was with. She shuddered slightly, remembering seeing Nemesis the instant he gained intelligence.  
  
"So what do you think Angel found?" Elizabeth asked Buffy. She recalled that it had been her and Angel at the forefront of the battle that occurred months ago, while she and Spike had been at the sidelines. The rest of the gang had hung back and used crossbows as Buffy had instructed.  
  
Buffy shrugged. "I don't know. I guess it depends what kind of info his contact had access to. If it's technical, it won't help us much, though it might help Will, Tara and Giles. If it gives us info on how to defeat Nemesis, then so much the better." She replied.  
  
"How much longer before we get to LA?" Anya yelled up front to them.  
  
"We left at eight. It's a two hour drive from Sunnydale to LA, so we should be there in another hour." Elizabeth called back to her, doubting she wanted to ask why Anya wanted to know.  
  
"Too bad we had to skip breakfast." Dawn commented, looking over at Buffy. "I'm hungry, and Tara is a really good cook."  
  
Buffy could have sworn she saw Tara blush and Willow smile a little. "Don't worry Dawn, as soon as we get to Angel we'll get something to eat." She told her little sister.  
  
"I just hope we don't have anything else to deal with." Spike voiced from the first time since they had picked him up. "If Nemesis is any indication, I would hate to see what else we could have waiting for us."  
  
****************************************************************************  
  
LA 12/21/01 9:05AM  
  
Barry had checked out three hotel rooms. Barry would stay with Carlos in one of the rooms, Chris would stay with his sister in the second room, and then Jill and Rebecca would stay in the last one. He then ordered the team to rest up, as they had no idea how much time they had before the fight would start.  
  
Rebecca had never been to LA and decided to do some exploring until later in the afternoon, and she snuck out of the hotel room as soon as Jill fell into a fitful sleep. She left the hotel and wondered what she should do first. She had heard great things about shopping in LA, but wasn't exactly prepared for that. So she decided to walk around until she found something interesting.  
  
It didn't take long for Rebecca to find a nearby park, and curiosity got the better of her. She went into the park, looking as all of the people went about their business. She couldn't help but reflect that most of these people had no idea what could be in store for them if their hunch was wrong. Or if it was right and they failed.  
  
It was then that Rebecca noticed a couple walking into an area full of trees. She was about to turn away when she noticed something odd. The man seemed to sprout a tail. She reluctantly followed the couple, keeping her right hand to the holster on her side, just under her shirt.  
  
She watched the couple carefully, and everything seemed fine. The two started to kiss, and the girl ended up with her back against the tree, and Rebecca heard the girl's flirtatious laughter. The tail aside, Rebecca found nothing odd about this encounter.  
  
Until the guy sprouted talons on his hands, pulled back, and slapped the girl across the face. She fell to the ground shocked, and right before both the girls' eyes, the man turned into a large lizard like monster. The girls screamed.  
  
Rebecca raised her Beretta and called out, "Hold it."  
  
The Lizard man turned around and stared at her with glowing yellow eyes. Rebecca automatically knew this thing was no Umbrella product, and wondered what she had gotten herself into.  
  
"You dare much, little girl." The lizard creature told her as he took a step towards her. He knew the other girl he lured here would not try to escape. "Now you will die."  
  
"Stay back, I mean it." Rebecca told him. He took another step toward her and she fired the Beretta at him. The bullet reflected off of his leathery skin, and she cursed silently.  
  
"You think a puny gun can possibly hurt me?" The Lizard man asked, then with lightning reflexes he reached up and picked Rebecca up by the throat. His grip tightened on her throat, and she felt herself losing oxygen.  
  
"Put her down now." Said a voice behind her. The Lizard man loosened his grip a little as he turned to face his new foe. He found two of them, one of them being a bald headed black man and the other being a middle aged British guy, who was attending to the frightened girl he had originally lured.  
  
"So much to eat, so little time." The Lizard creature commented and then dropped Rebecca, turning to Gunn and ran towards him. At the last moment Gunn pulled a small axe from behind his back and decapitated the Lizard creature. The head fell to the left, the body to the right.  
  
"A Lezard." Wesley commented as he helped the girl up. "It's a rare sight in Los Angeles."  
  
"Not rare enough." Gunn said as he went over and offered a hand to Rebecca. "Are you okay?"  
  
Rebecca accepted the offer, taking his hand and allowing him to help her up, then grabbed her Beretta from the ground. "That Lizard had really tough skin. My bullets didn't do a thing to it." She commented.  
  
"Things like that are rarely affected by guns. And it's pronounced Lezard." Wesley told her.  
  
"I stand corrected." Rebecca said as she holstered her Beretta. "Thanks for the rescue, but who are you two?"  
  
"I'm Wesley Wyndum Pryce, and this is Gunn. We work with a private detective in this town." Wesley extended his hand and Rebecca shook it. "And you are?"  
  
"My name is Rebecca Chambers. I'm with the S.T.A.R.S. team." Rebecca introduced herself. "So, do you always fight weird lizard creatures?"  
  
Gunn shook his head. "Nah, we usually take on a lot worse than those things." He told her.  
  
Rebecca didn't find that too comforting.  
  
"You really shouldn't have tried to shoot that thing." Wesley told Rebecca, acting almost like Barry would have if he knew she was out here right now. "In fact, you probably shouldn't have done anything at all. We were tracking that thing, and you endangering yourself like that could have put our plan in harms way."  
  
Rebecca tried not to get too defensive. "I've faced scarier things than that Lizard thing. Things that I'm not sure you could even imagine." She replied.  
  
"We have pretty good imaginations." Gunn stated flatly. "Besides, sometimes truth is stranger than fiction."  
  
"None the less." Wesley stated, and then glanced down at his watch. "We really should return to the hotel. Angel is waiting."  
  
Gunn nodded. "Right, it's only like less than an hour before the slayer and her friends show up." He said as he turned to Wesley and the two men started to walk away.  
  
Rebecca watched them take a few steps, and then what Gunn said flew through her mind. "Did you say the slayer?" she asked, walking towards the two men.  
  
Gunn turned back and stared at the young woman. "Yea, she's called the vampire slayer. Goes by the name of Buffy. Wouldn't know what kind of strength she has, not by just looking at her." He replied. "Why?"  
  
"Does she live on the Hellmouth?" Rebecca questioned now.  
  
"She lives in Sunnydale, which is right under what the Spaniards called Boca Del Infierno, the Hellmouth." Wesley supplied now. "Why?"  
  
Rebecca remembered the note left by the mysterious woman Rain. The slayer lived on the Hellmouth, and that was where the Nemesis got its intelligence. "I think.we may all be working for the same purpose here." She told the men.  
  
Wesley stared at her skeptically. "Oh, really." He gave it a moments thought and realized she could handle whatever truths she learned, regardless of whether her word were true or not. "Why don't you come back to the hotel with us and we can figure out if that is true or not." He suggested.  
  
Rebecca agreed, and the three left the wooded area.  
  
**************************************************************************** *  
  
Hyperion Hotel 12/21/01 9:30AM  
Angel watched as Fred and Courtney sat at the front desk, going over the information that had been on Courtney's disk. Every now and again Fred would ask Courtney for some sort of clarification, and she would give it to her.  
  
But his mind was far away, reliving the night he had gone down to Sunnydale to help Buffy deal with Nemesis and the zombies that had followed it, all of them being lured by the energy of the Hellmouth.  
  
He recalled how thrilled Spike was to see Angel, which could have been interpreted into micrometers. Buffy however had been almost ecstatic to see her vampire ex-boyfriend. When Buffy had smiled at him, he remembered the twenty-four hours they had shared together when he had become human. But he also knew he was the only one who knew about it.  
  
Or should have known about it. A glance with Elizabeth had shown she had somehow known what had transpired that night, when Angel had become human. The vampire with a soul also knew the visionary would never tell Buffy what had happened that day though.  
  
Giles had given them all a briefing on what little they had all learned through individual research, and then the attack plan was made. Angel found himself missing this, this collaboration of Buffy and her friends. He had almost wished that Cordelia had come along as well, even though if she had he knew that would have been a mistake.  
  
But what stuck out most of all was the attack. Even though they would probably have won (as was the case for this group of heroes) Nemesis had suddenly chosen to retreat, and the zombies followed him. Angel hadn't understood that as he held Buffy in his arms, waiting for Nemesis to kill them both. Giles speculation that Nemesis had gotten smart didn't help that feeling out.  
  
Angel now wondered if that was true, even though there was little doubt about that. He just wondered what to expect with the new fight coming up. He was hoping that when Giles said they gained intelligence, it was just rudimentary, or else they would all be in so much trouble.  
  
Angel heard the door open, and assumed it was Gunn and Wesley coming back from stopping the Lezard that had been terrorizing the park. But when Wesley came beside Angel and said, "We have a guest." Angel turned to see a pretty young woman, about eighteen, standing in the middle of the lobby looking around.  
  
"Who is she?" Angel asked Wesley.  
  
"Her name is Rebecca, and she says that she and her team, the S.T.A.R.S., are here for the same thing we are." Wesley told Angel and then added, "I'm not quiet sure what that was."  
  
Fred glanced up and noticed the young woman in the lobby and smiled politely and said, "Hello."  
  
Courtney looked up and gasped a little. "Oh, my." she started.  
  
Fred looked over at her as Angel, Gunn, and Wesley came over to her. "Do you know her?" Gunn asked.  
  
Courtney nodded. "Not personally, but she is part of the S.T.A.R.S. team. They've opposed Umbrella since the mansion incident." She informed them.  
  
Rebecca looked over at Courtney, unable to recognize her. "I think you have us at a disadvantage." She pointed out.  
  
"I'm the daughter of the head scientist of Nemesis project. I was looking for some help. I found these people. Though I would say you and your friends would be helpful." She explained.  
  
"I.I would have to call them." Rebecca replied.  
  
"Go right ahead, the phone is right over there." Wesley said.  
  
**************************************************************************** **  
  
Jill's Hotel room 12/21/01 9:45 AM  
  
Prior to the mansion incident, and everything afterwards, Jill never spent more than ten minutes in the shower, always eager to be doing things. But since that time, she had learned that luxuries such as long hot showers weren't always such common things after all.  
  
She immediately noticed Rebecca was not around when she left the steamy bathroom, a towel wrapped firmly around herself. She was surprised because Barry had ordered them to stay in until twilight.  
Confusion swept over her for an instant before she decided maybe Rebecca had gone over to Chris and Claire's room to hang out there. Then the phone in their hotel rang, which was a real surprise considering no one knew they were here. She picked up the phone. "Hello."  
  
"Jill, it's me. I know that I was supposed to stay there, but I couldn't help but go and explore. I found some other people who are trying to stop Umbrella like us. Including a girl who says she is the daughter of scientists in Nemesis project." Rebecca explained quickly.  
  
Jill sighed inwardly. She should have known that Rebecca would have gone out, and she realized Barry should have known it too. "Alright, where are you? We'll come down and check these people out." She replied.  
  
"I'm at the Hyperion Hotel." Rebecca answered, then proceeded to give Jill the address, and then hung up the phone.  
  
Jill hung up as well, moving some hair from her eyes. "Barry is not going to like this." She told no one in particular as she moved to get dressed.  
**************************************************************************** *  
  
Hyperion Hotel LA 9:59AM  
  
Elizabeth pulled the van up to the Hyperion Hotel, and stopped the engine. "Alright, we're here. Everybody out." She called out.  
  
Spike looked over at her. "And how do you intend for me to get out?" he asked her.  
  
Elizabeth paused, remembering the vampire's 'allergy' to the sun. "Right. Um."  
  
Dawn stood up. "Buffy and I will head on it, you guys follow. We'll hold the door for Spike, so he can run in when everyone is out." She suggested.  
  
"Sounds good to me." Buffy acknowledged and then stood up and opened the van door. She stepped out, followed closely by Dawn. Xander and Anya followed.  
  
"What do you think that they have.. you know, info wise?" Willow asked as she looked over at Giles.  
  
Giles shrugged. "Quiet a good question. I suppose it depends on how deeply connected Angel's source was to Umbrella." He replied. "Never the less, this should prove to be interesting."  
  
Giles and the two wiccans stepped out of the van and followed Xander and the three girls.  
  
Buffy arrived at the entrance and opened up the door. She saw Fred working with a blonde girl she didn't know at the counter. She saw Gunn and Wesley talking with a young girl that Buffy didn't know. And she saw Angel, turning to them.  
  
"Buffy." Angel said.  
  
"Angel." Buffy said. "We came.like you wanted us too."  
  
"So what's the deal dead boy?" Xander asked, breaking the semi- tense atmosphere that had developed when they walked in.  
  
"The deal," the blonde girl, Courtney, replied, "Is Nemesis, with his intelligence and zombie army is on its way to LA. And it won't stop here if we can't defeat him."  
****************************************************************************  
No one noticed the lone figure standing in the alley across from the Hyperion Hotel. The figure was that of a woman with short black hair and brown eyes. She wore blue jeans and a sweater. To the casual observer, she was just another person on the streets of LA.  
  
But if anyone were to look into her eyes, they would see nothing. Those eyes now watched as the group filed out of the van and into the hotel where the vampire with a soul resided.  
"Your appearance here is rather unexpected Slayer." She said aloud. "But it makes no difference. My plan is just beginning, and there is no way you can win." Her eyes then glowed red and then the woman that appeared to be Jenny Calendar vanished.  
Sorry for the dry spell, will try to do better with this. With Buffy ending in three weeks, it will make it a little harder (though Buffy ending saddens me). When the rest of the S.T.A.R.S. show up, it will be time to get down to business. But an Umbrella team will be sent in to capture Nemesis and eliminate the S.T.A.R.S. And then we have the figure that impersonated Jenny.very suspicious. Stay tuned. 


End file.
